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Here's a look at the underwhelming new releases that began September. Here's hoping for better soon....

Apollo 18

Starring: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, and Ryan Robbins

Synopsis: This is one of those discovered footage films that have become all the rage. Back in 1999, it seemed like a novel concept when “The Blair Witch Project” took this approach. That movie wasn’t great either, but it was a bit ahead of its time. Since then there’s been a myriad of these type of films. “Cloverfield” presented a Godzilla-like story using that footage, while “Paranormal Activity” has spawned two sequels (the second due out in October). “Apollo 18” follows that model, supposedly offering up footage of a secret mission to the moon that ended badly and explains why we haven’t been back. The film features relatively unknown actors (the most recognizable probably being Christie who stars in the SyFy drama “Alphas”), a basic plot, and some shaky camera work. The film is stylized to look older — as the movie is set in the 1970s — and the shots capture wide views of the action. One of the problems with the story is that there just isn’t a lot here. There are only three actors in the film — and since one of them stays up in orbit — basically only two characters are left to carry the whole production. They do a decent enough job, but given the constraints of the genre, cast, and production, there isn’t a lot they can do to generate authentic scares. What the filmmakers do right is not investing a lot in the film. The reported budget is around $5 million, with the film making more than $8.5 million over the weekend. That ensures that, if nothing else, the film will be profitable. And that’s good, because there is really nothing else to say about the film. First, it’s not remotely scary. Try as they might, it follows a plodding, predictable formula. There isn’t a lot done to really showcase what exactly the characters are battling. And the film seriously drags, which is unfortunate given its 88-minute running time. There just isn’t enough story or artistry to the storytelling to create anything memorable or compelling here. The film bumps up against every limitation of the genre and fails to make any headway. For those hoping for something unique and compelling, this film is a total disappointment.

Rating: PG-13 for some disturbing sequences and language.

Verdict: One star out of four.

Shark Night 3D

Starring: Sara Paxon, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Donal Logue, and Katharine McPhee

Synopsis: This movie is a gross disappointment for many reasons. First, there is more money pumped into the production and it tries to capitalize on the 3D craze. For the record, the whole 3D part of this film is completely useless. Second, it takes two genres of horror films — teens terrorized by hillbillies and people terrorized by nature — and tries to mash it together in a grotesque way. Then the film forgets to add any humor. But, what else should we expect from director David R. Ellis (“Snakes on a Plane”). This movie focuses on a group of college students from Tulane University that take a weekend trip to the remote, island home of rich kid Sara (Paxton). They are a diverse group of mismatched people all loosely connected. When they arrive at the backwoods lake, they run into some angry locals (Carmack and Jimmy Lee, Jr.) and the local sheriff (Logue). Soon, though, it turns out they have bigger problems as some giant, killer sharks have taken up residence in this little salt-water lake. Mayhem and carnage ensue. One of the interesting decisions here is that the filmmakers went for a PG-13 rating, which limits what they can show. That sort of handcuffs this kind of production. But even more curious to me is that the film got a PG-13 rating. This movie is gross in a sadistic sort of way, especially with the borderline lechery and torture exhibited by some of the backwoods inhabitants. In my opinion this is a film that should have received an R rating for story content, if not for execution. Second, the performances are middling at best. This is a collection of audience friendly teens — Paxon (“The Beautiful Life,” “Last House on the Left”), Milligan (“90210”), Carmack (“The OC”), and American-Idol runner up McPhee, who is trying to cling onto her 15 minutes with a role and performance that is far from memorable. This movie is a complete waste of time, and it fails to really live up to any of the aspects people seek from the genre. Plus, the sadistic nature of the storyline gives the whole production a dark, creepy tone. Whatever the filmmakers were going for with this, they missed the mark.

Rating: PG-13 for violence and terror, disturbing images, sexual references, partial nudity, language and thematic material.

Verdict: Zero stars out of four.

Upcoming Releases:

Friday, Sept. 9 — "Warrior," "Contagion," "Bucky Larson: Born to Be A Star"

Friday, Sept. 16 — "Drive," "Straw Dogs," "I Don't Know How She Does It"

Friday, Sept. 23 — "Abduction," "Machine Gun Preacher," "Moneyball," "Killer Elite," "A Dolphin's Tale"

Friday, Sept. 30 — "50/50," "Courageous," "Dream House," "What's Your Number"